Page 137 - Bible Geography and Near East Studies

Asia to help the believers in
Jerusalem. After receiving
the offerings among the
churches, Paul traveled
back to Jerusalem to
present the love gift to
them. This ended Paul’s 3
rd
Missionary Journey. While
in Jerusalem and while
worshipping in the Temple,
Paul was accused of
breaking the Law, and a
public outcry of the Jews
almost left Paul dead. He
was rescued by the Roman
guard and taken to
Caesarea, where he was
under arrest for two years. He finally appealed to Caesar and set sail to go to Rome. During the journey,
there was a violent storm, and the group was shipwrecked on the island of Malta, where they stayed for
the winter. Finally, Paul was brought to Rome, where he was under house arrest and yet allowed to
preach the Gospel of Jesus. Many believed in Rome. According to tradition, Paul was beheaded in
Rome during the time of the Great Fire in 64 AD. Nero blamed the Christians for starting the fire, and
great persecution began off and on for almost 2 ½ centuries.

Paul shares the Gospel to the entire Roman Empire – 59 to 64 AD.

Paul no doubt
strengthened the
Church in Rome and
even throughout the
whole Empire. Here
he penned many of
the epistles to the
various churches in
Asia Minor and
Macedonia. By 64
AD, Christianity had
spread enough in
Rome for Caesar Nero
to blame the
Christians for the
great fire in Rome.
Nero ordered many
put to death,
including Peter and Paul. According to tradition, Peter was crucified upside down, and Paul was
beheaded. The Church in Rome was a center of Christianity in the entire Roman world.

134